


Stories of the Second Self: Department Shake Up

by John_Steiner



Series: Alter Idem [32]
Category: Police - Fandom, Urban Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:35:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22521103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner
Summary: Hardly a year into Alter Idem, and Lieutenant Reigns' case load was getting weirder and more gruesome by the day. Himself a Fae elder, requiring accommodation for his antlers and hooves put being black on the police force into perspective. Then the vigilante killings of vampires started, and this time the killer also murdered a department patrolman.
Series: Alter Idem [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813





	Stories of the Second Self: Department Shake Up

Once his new features grew, Lieutenant Reigns had to be reassigned one of the department suburbans to provide extra headroom. He hated it, and hated the stares he got from other police officers for it, but it was that or work a desk full time.

Reigns drove out to the scene of the latest incident. Several other cars were already cordoning off the roar in the dawn light. He pulled over further back where he saw the county coroner's vehicle, and got out.

His left hoof cracked hard against asphalt, and then his right. Reigns ducked his head low, while getting out, and then let himself have a little stretch of his back after hunkering in the suburban for so long. Then he paced over to where many of the officers stood and the coroner was crouching down.

"Lieutenant," Captain Barnes grumbled, "I tell 'ya, one day this chalk outline will circle the city."

Reigns sized up the smoldering charred bodies, one on a police squad car. "This is the first time he's done it to a cop."

"So you're not surprised then?" Barnes asked him.

"Wisner, is there enough left uncooked to get a blood cell count?" Reigns asked, folding his arms.

"Don't have to," Dr. Wisner replied, prying open the mouth with a metal probe, and then turned back to Lieutenant Reigns. "You can tell from the teeth. They're all sharp and curved back. For lack of another word, it's another vampire. And like the rest, he was roasted at night, so we can rule out suicide."

Suicide was never officially designated for vampires who voluntarily walked out into the sun, but use of the term was a habit for many in the Cincinnati PD and associated services.

Reigns walked over to the car and leaned over to see the budge. "Patrolman Merrill. There's no way the perp could've been defending themselves from excessive force."

"I know it," Barnes agreed, "You know it, and the Commissioner knows it. But we can't act without clarification from the feds, and you know how goddamn slow they are about that."

Before, Lieutenant Reigns took a lot of shit for the black side of his family background and for the white side that didn't let skin color get in the way. Now, he took shit for the full rack of antlers, unusually muscular neck, the hooves, pointed ears, and wider nose bridge. Some on the department were called him Officer Rudolf, since the first letter match that of his surname.

"The guy's killin' cops now," Reigns needlessly pointed out, "Bare minimum, we should be able to defend officers."

"Hey, Captain?" one of the homicide detectives approached, holding a phone out. "Got a call from the Mayor here."

"Captain Barnes speaking," he answered after taking the phone, "Yes sir-- No, he's right here with me-- Yeah, yeah-- Right, we're on our way."

Captain Barnes passed the phone back and waved Reigns away from the perimeter. "Looks like things moved faster than we thought."

"Why?" Reigns asked, "What just happened?"

"Mayor Farlow needs me and the commissioner to talk to people from some new federal bureau called Pentacaste Affairs," Barnes explained, "And they requested you specifically. Beyond that, I don't know. We're leaving for the meeting now, and you're driving."


End file.
